Safe Return Doubtful

translated from the Japanese by Kalau Almony

This is an opportune and relevant absurdist novel about power grabbing and greed, related to lust.

The Koharu of the title isn’t the usual sort of mistress, she is a ‘life-sized love doll’, owned by a single man of 39 years old, Yano Akira, who works in the editorial department of a large publishing house.

As the novel begins, Akira has owned Koharu for a year, and their relationship has grown. She is a soundboard for his problems, ‘an excellent listener, would nod her head, give simple responses, and touch his body at just the right moments’. He sleeps better, spooning with her, though any sex he has with her is not mentioned.

The local bar he attends is run by Ukai Chikako, who has several times made approaches towards Akira. Eventually he joins her for one evening. Things are further complicated by a third woman, Akaneya Kyoko, who has been watching Akira, in a stalking fashion, for a year before she closes in to snare him. Hence, Akira finds himself in three relationships, each of which, once established, alternate in the text.

This is an entertainingly strange novel, and perhaps not in the way the reader would think. It’s the doll that remains in the background with the other two women with more prominent presence.

My GoodReads score 4 / 5